Liquid bran drink

ABSTRACT

There is provided a palatable pre-mixed bran drink comprising heat treated, degelled bran in the presence of hydrated colloidal magnesium aluminum silicate and an acidification agent. The drink has good mouthfeel and may be used as a bulk supplement to diet.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 793,174,filed 10/31/85, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,246.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Over the last decade numerous medical studies have shown that theaddition of undigestible fiber, in particular, cellulose fiber, to humandiets aids the digestive process. Furthermore, such fibers have beenclincally reported as being helpful in the treatment of diverticulitisand may be useful in the prevention of cancer of the colon. Numeroussources of fiber are known, popular among these sources is commercialbran obtained from the milling of wheat, oats, corn or soybeans which isa variable product containing various concentrations of indigestiblecellulose and starch. These commercial brans have been primarily usedfor the manufacture of food products and have been incorporated becauseof their very high fiber content, in various breakfast cereals. Inaddition to the aforesaid general qualities of fiber material, the Foodand Drug Administration has recognized bran as a safe and effectivelaxative when taken in the amounts of between about 6 and about 14 gramsper day.

One of the principal problems with increasing the fiber intake of humandiets has been the difficulty in compounding high fiber contentmaterials in a manner which is not only effective but is palatable andsufficiently attractive in taste to make it appealing to the consumer.Various formulations such as cookies, confections, dispersible powders,chewable tablets, and the like are known but are generally recognized asdeficient in palatability or convenience.

Dispersible powders containing fibrous materials such as psyllium orbran powders have been made and used for the in situ preparation ofdrinks containing them.

Premixed, ready-to-drink fiber containing products have not heretoforebeen made. Psyllium is not suitable in such products since it gelsrapidly in water.

It is further generally recognized that cereal brans would be moresuitable for the preparation of aqueous dispersions but they haveundesirable physical characteristics that make the preparation of stableliquid products very difficult. They are coarse, fibrous, have a strongcharacteristic taste and a grainy mouthfeel. Furthermore, they settleand cake rapidly when dispersed in aqueous media and are difficult toredisperse into uniform suspensions.

We have now found to overcome these problems.

The recognition of bran as a useful laxative product was recognized asearly as U.S. Pat. No. 366,992 to Armstrong whose product however was asolid material. A bran food is also disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 1,189,133to John L. Kellogg and a similar solid composition in U.S. Pat. No.1,206,804 to Ashley V. Black. An early mention of a beverage utilizingbran is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,631,830 to Laurel A. Negly and Percy S.Black whose intention appears to be produce either a syrup or a powderwhich can be suspended to form a beverage of coffee-like taste. Apartfrom recognition of the "ingredients" as being "healthful" there is nodisclosure of the bran being maintained with any degree of particulateintegrity.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,262,472 to William J. Eisenbeiss discusses anon-alcoholic carbonated beverage in which bran is soaked in salinesolution below the boiling point of the liquid in order to extract thealbumin from the bran. It is not clear however, whether after extractionthe bran solids are discarded or whether they are kept in the mixturewith the other components. Since the Patentee speaks of "steeping thebran" the indications would be that the solid materials are discardedafter the procedure.

The medicinal history of bran for laxative purposes is well summarizedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,215 to Gabby et al. who discloses a solid brancontaining composition in tablet form as a bulking or laxative agent.

It will thus be seen that heretofore the art does not teach a bran drinkcontaining substantial proportions of fibrous material in substantiallyintact form.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has been found that a palatable bran drink may be obtained by heatingwheat bran in the presence of a physiologically acceptable acidificationagent and an inorganic complex of hydrated colloidal magnesium aluminumsilicate. If desired, there may be added at least one additionalcomponent selected from the group consisting of food grade surfactant,sweetening agent, food grade preservative, food grade flavorant and foodgrade colorant. These additional components may be added either beforeor after the aforesaid heating step as may be convenient, though it isbetter to add flavorants after the heating step.

The thus obtained bran drink is an aqueous potable suspension of groundwheat bran consisting essentially of wheat bran having from about 30 toabout 50% by weight of starch and from about 50-70% by weight of fiber,and a final particle size of less than 40 mesh, said bran comprisingbetween about 5 and about 15% by weight of the suspension, aphysiologically acceptable acidification agent in a quantity sufficientto provide a pH of between about 3.5 and 5.5 to said suspension and aaluminum inorganic complex of hydrated colloidal aluminum magnesiumsiicate having a silicon dioxide content of from about 62% to 69% byweight, aluminum oxide from about 10% to about 15% by weight ofmagnesium oxide from about 3% to about 12% by weight wherein there isutilized between about 0.1 and about 1.0% by weight of said suspension(preferably about 0.2%).

The aforesaid aqueous potable suspension is formed by the sequentialsteps of heating suitable powdered wheat bran, preferably of betweenless than about 40 mesh together with the acidification agent and theaforesaid inorganic complex, with water at a temperature of from about180° to about 210° F. for from about 20 to about 60 minutes. The mixtureis cooled to ambient temperature and subjected to sheer stress to breakany formed gel and prevent further gel formation.

In the process of the present invention wheat bran having an originalparticle size of less than about 40 mesh is suspended in water to aconcentration of between about 5 and about 15% by weight, to thissuspension is added a physiologically acceptable acidification agent ina quantity sufficient to provide a pH of between about 3.5 and about5.5. Any physiologically acceptable acidification agent may be used.Such an agent may be an inorganic agent such as phosphoric acid or anyof the generally used fruit acids such as citric, tartaric, adipic,malic, or fumaric acids. The chemical nature of the acidifier is notimportant provided it is physiologically acceptable.

There is also added between about 0.1 to about 1.0% preferably about0.2% by weight of the suspension, of an inorganic complex of hydratedcolloidal magnesium aluminum silicate. Any of the complexes in thisgeneral catogory sold under the trademark of Veegum by R. J. VanderbiltCo., Norwalk, Conn. may be utilized. It Norwalk, Conn. may be utilized.It has been found however that Veegum H V gives rise to a product ofspecially desirable results. Veegum H V contains about 10.7% of aluminumoxide and about 11.9% of magnesium oxide and a silicon dioxideconcentration of about 62%.

This mixture is then heated but only to below the boiling point ofwater. Thus, it is preferred to heat the mixture to from about 180° toabout 210° F. for a period of from about 20 to about 60 minutes. Themixture is then cooled, as it cools, it has a tendency to gel. Such agel, of course, makes consumption of the material as a drink ratherdifficult and unpalatable. The gel must therefore be broken. While it isacceptable to allow the mixture to cool to ambient temperature and thenbreak the gel, it is procedurally simpler to subject the material tosheer stress, preferably but not critically, in a continuous mannerduring the cooling stage in order to break gels which are formed andprevent further gel formation.

There are basically two approaches which we have found operable and canbe taken to apply the sheer stress: homogenizing, or passing through acolloid mill. The homogenizing may be carried out by forcing themixture, as it cools, through a narrow orifice at a homogenizingpressure of between about 2000 to about 6000 psig. Alternatively, wherea colloid mill is utilized, said mill is set up to have a separation offrom about 10 to about 30×10⁻³ inch and run at from about 1500 to about2500 rpm.

The resultant product, in which the original wheat bran constitutes fromabout 30 to about 50% by weight of starch, and about 50-70% by weight offiber now has a particle size of less than about 40 mesh and which,while some settling may occur upon storage, has particles which may bereadily resuspended upon mild agitation, such as shaking the bottle, andwhich will remain in satisfactory suspension for the period of timenecessary to drink it. The thus prepared material has an excellent andpalatable mouthfeel. The composition may however be enhanced by theaddition of at least one surfactant comprising between about 0.1 and1.0% by weight of the entire suspension, at least one sweetener of fromabout 15 to about 40% by weight of the entire suspension, at least onepreservative of from about 0.1 to about 0.6% by weight, at least oneflavorant of between about 0.1 and 1.0% by weight of the entiresuspension and a colorant from 0.01-1% by weight (eg. Titanium Dioxide1%).

One or more of any of the foregoing groups of additives may be employedand they may be added either before or after the heating step. Anyphysiologically acceptable member of each category may be employed.Thus, as examples, but not for purposes of limitation, there may bementioned as surfactants: sorbitan monostearate, polyoxyethylenesorbitan, monolaurate, monoleate, or monostearate; as sweeteners:sucrose, fructose, glucose, sorbitol, saccharin, corn syrup,hydrogenated corn starch hydrolysate; as preservatives: sorbic acid andits salts, benzoic acid and its salts, methyl paraben and propylparaben; and as flavorants or colorants there may be used any suitablefood flavorant or colorant.

The product of the present invention is a very mild "bulking" laxative.It produces no sudden laxative effect such as, for example, castor oil.It does, however, due to the bulking effect facilitate the colonicfunction by providing bulk. The actual concentration of bran in theconsumed product is, to a certain extent, a matter of taste and choice.Since the FDA bulk laxative recommendation is 6-14 grams per day, such arequirement can be met by the ingestion of about 2-4 ounces of a 10%bran product per day. In view of the total safety of the product no harmis done by a higher intake.

EXAMPLE I

    ______________________________________                                        Bran Drink Composition                                                        ______________________________________                                        1.    Wheat Bran, ground     10.00%                                           2.    Hydrogenated Glucose syrup                                                                           25.00                                                  (75%) Lycasin                                                           3.    Citric Acid            0.20                                             4.    Pot. Sorbate           0.05                                             5.    Sod. Benzoate          0.05                                             6.    Complex Magnesium Aluminum Silicate                                                                  0.20                                                   (Veegum H.V.)                                                           7.    Sorbitan 60 mono stearate                                                                            0.20                                             8.    Flavor                 0.10                                             9.    H.sub.2 O              64.20                                                                         100.00%                                          ______________________________________                                         All percentages are by wt. pH = 5.05                                     

The wheat bran is powdered wheat bran of less than 40 mesh size and issuspended in water with the citric acid and Veegum. The mixture isheated for 30 minutes at between 180° and 210° F. The source of heat isremoved and the mixture is circulated thru a colloid mill (Gifford WoodMill manufactured by Gifford Wood, Inc.) until ambient temperature isachieved. The mill is set for roller separation of 20×10⁻³ inch runningat 2000 rpm.

In accordance with the foregoing proceedure, but in place of the colloidmill there may be used as homogenizer manufactured by Manton Gaulin,Inc.) in which the mixture is passed through a small, set aperture at4000 psig.

Two fluid ounces of the above suspension provide a dose of 6 grams ofbran, a safe and effective laxative dose of fiber. This dosage may beimbibed from 1 to 4 times per day.

EXAMPLE II

    ______________________________________                                        1.     Wheat Bran, ground 10.0%                                               2.     Hydrogenated corn starch                                                                         25.0                                                       hydrolysate                                                            3.     Phosphoric acid    0.45                                                4.     Titanium Dioxide   1.0                                                 5.     Veegum H V         0.2                                                 6.     Sorbitor 60 Monostearate                                                                         0.2                                                 7.     Potassium Sorbate  0.25                                                8.     Sodium Benzoate    0.25                                                9.     Flavor             0.6                                                 10.    Purified water, enough to make                                                                   100.0%                                              ______________________________________                                         All percentages are by wt. pH = 4.5                                      

The wheat bran is powdered wheat bran of less than 40 mesh size and issuspended in water with the citric acid and Veegum. The mixture isheated for 30 minutes at between 180° and 210° F. The source of heat isremoved and the mixture is circulated thru a colloid mill (Gifford WoodMill manufactured by Gifford Wood, Inc.) until ambient temperature isachieved. The mill is set for roller separation of 20×10⁻³ inch runningat 2000 rpm.

In accordance with the foregoing proceedure, but in place of the colloidmill there may be used a homogenizer manufactured by Manton Gaulin,Inc.) in which the mixture is passed through a small, set aperture at4000 psig.

Two fluid ounces of the above suspension provide a dose of 6 grams ofbran, a safe and effective laxative dose of fiber. This dosage may beimbibed from 1 to 4 times per day.

We claim:
 1. An aqueous potable suspension of ground wheat bransuspension being formed by sequential steps of(i) heating an aqueoussuspension consisting substantially of:(a) wheat bran containing fromabout 30 to about 50% by weight of starch and about 50-70% by weight offiber, having a particle size of less than 40 mesh and comprisingbetween about 5 and about 15% by weight of the suspension, (b) aphysiologically acceptable acidification agent in a quantity sufficientto provide a pH of between about 3.5 and about 5.5 to said suspension,(c) an inorganic complex of hydrated colloidal magnesium aluminumsilicate wherein the silicon dioxide content is between about 62 andabout 69% by weight, and the aluminum oxide content is from about 10 toabout 15% by weight and the magnesium oxide content is about 3 to about12% by weight, said complex comprising between about 0.1 and about 1.0%by weight of said suspension, at a temperature of from about 180° toabout 210° for from about 20 to about 60 minutes (ii) cooling themixture to ambient temperature, and (iii) subjecting the thus formedmixture during cooling to shear stress to break any formed gel andprevent further gel formation.